


Kingdom of Dandelions

by passionate_fruit



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Ghost!Lance, Pidge's name is Katie, Sick!Pidge, They never end up technically dating but it's implied closer to the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 01:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11910450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/passionate_fruit/pseuds/passionate_fruit
Summary: Inspired by the playground by the hospital I drove past a week ago.I didn't choose the title because it's dande-lions, although I will make references to the lions in later chapters!





	Kingdom of Dandelions

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the playground by the hospital I drove past a week ago.
> 
> I didn't choose the title because it's dande-lions, although I will make references to the lions in later chapters!

Katie sat alone on the park bench, sniffling as the warm breeze pushed the swings gently. It almost made her happy, the way it gave the empty playground some resemblance of the one by her house. The one that always had kids on it, the one that she herself had played on all through her years of growing up. The one she missed so dearly. 

She could almost imagine this park as if it were full of children. Kids pushing and shoving their way towards the slide as multiple others ran around beneath to escape the one who was “it”. She could almost hear the kids cheering as they finally made it to the end of the monkey bars, the noise that was never quite there getting lost in the wind. The children eating a snack alongside their mothers on nearby park benches that weren’t there, the smell of millions of new foods drifting through the same breeze that helped the fathers by the swingset push and pull the children who screamed to be higher. Katie thought it was sweet, the empty playground that maybe wasn’t as alone and creepy as some believed it to be, the ghosts of careless children playing there forever.

Katie glanced behind her, where the hospital stood with it's not-quite-welcoming entrance opened to the street. With the park being, well, the _hospital’s_ , she suddenly found the idea of the ghost children a little more off-putting. Although, she supposed that it would be nice to play eternity away. Never having to go back into the happily depressing hospital rooms, just watching the seasons float away in a mindless haze as more children slowly joined you in your aeonian bliss.

She smiled again, the thought once again warming her heart. When she died she hoped to remain right here, her spirit remaining as an eternal symbol of welcoming and peace. She snorted. That seemed _really_ sappy.

Katie groaned as her chest started to ache yet again. She had long since accepted that the sappy and sentimental stuff was probably just another side effect of whatever disease she had this time. She had had quite a few of them in the past few years. _Stupid immune system_. She had only recently accepted her life to be this way, but she already found herself caring less and less. If it was her time then so be it. It was useless to pretend that she had hopes and dreams for her life.

Her family, of course, would have her head if she ever admitted that out loud. So she fought the ongoing battle of life for them, and she was proud to admit her continuous victories.

Ah, yes. She was once again veering off into the sappy side.

Suddenly, a strange burst of laughter pulled her from her mind. She wasn’t aware that she wasn’t alone. Not that she was doing anything embarrassing, but some warning would’ve been great.

She tried not to make it too obvious that she was searching around the park for the stranger that was now seemingly nearing hysterics. “Hello?” she called as the noises started to die out without any hint to the owner of the voice.

The laughing, although already fading, now stopped abruptly. Katie glanced around her briefly before looking down to her knees. “Sorry?” she said, not quite sure how to approach the situation. Some people did, occasionally, pass through the park before realizing it was right by the hospital. A surprising number of them seemed to think the whole area was covered with germs from a super contagious killer bacteria, as if a _hospital_ of all places would be unsure of how to keep things clean. She didn’t mean to offend the passerby with her presence, but the mere thought of her existence disgusting someone made her want to say things that were a _little_ less than “nice.” Unfortunately for her, she held her tongue. “There aren’t a lot of people who come by here. I just thought I was… y’know, alone.”

A few leaves snapped and fell off the the tree above her. Then a “ _thump!_ ” resounded to her right. A boy who could not have been much older than her fell from the tree, landing hard onto his back. His blue eyes stared at her in shock from the ground, long enough that she started to wonder if he had broken his back. Then he brought his tan hand up to the soft brown hair on his head. “No, no no no, nononono, I should be apologizing. I- well, I did see you there. But,” he paused as he used his hands to cover his face now, his long legs pulling tightly up against his chest. “People normally just ignore me.”

He sounded so sad and lonely that Katie once again filled with rage. Why do people have to have such an unfiltered attitude that they can feel justified ignoring anyone who appeared to be sick, injured, or just _different?_

“U-uh, sorry, sorry. I know it probably seemed like I was laughing at you and that’s kinda hard to ignore, so it’s my fault. But if you want to pretend this never happened, I guess I can’t stop you…” The boy kept rambling and Katie realised she probably looked angry. Great, now she was the unkind stranger. “...I-I promise I won’t, uh, laugh anymore if it m-makes you uncomfortable…”

Katie jumped up and, with a little more volume than was probably necessary, exclaimed, “No. Oh no, not at all! I’m just, I mean, as I said before, I just wasn’t aware I had company.”

“O-oh, really?” The boy stopped in an attempt at composing himself. Then, with a grin he said, “Hey, the name’s Lance. And you must be the princess I’ve been trying to rescue.” Katie laughed before she could stop herself.

His face faltered. “Nice,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m Katie.” she responded immediately after in an attempt to salvage the situation. She only thought it was funny because of how quickly his whole personality appeared to change from clumsy, apologetic stranger to a totally confident flirt. “I think I would be extremely capable of rescuing myself though.”

Lance shrugged his shoulders, but didn’t miss a beat. “If I’m not saving you, then maybe you’re here to save me. Hospital playground? The sooner we leave, the better, princess.”

“Pretty sure I’m the knight. But thanks for the compliment, ‘Prince.’” Katie said, shooting glares at him. He made an exaggerated pout, but she could tell that he wasn’t really disappointed.

“Well then brave knight, if you don’t mind, the sooner we leave the sooner we can get married.” Lance wiggled his eyebrows and laughed.

“Oh, uh, sorry. I can’t leave, I--” Katie stopped and glanced towards the hospital. Lance didn’t seem to realize she was a patient, or he would know she couldn’t leave. She didn’t necessarily look sick on some of her better days, so it’s entirely possible that he didn’t think she was. And it was strangely freeing, to know that he wouldn’t know. No questions, no awkwardness, no pity. She liked it. “I’m waiting for someone.”

He seemed to blank out for a second. Then he stammered out, “Whoops. I-I can go, if you want.”

“Nah,” she replied. “it’s fine. I don’t know when they’ll come out, but if we could just stay around here then we should be fine.”

Lance took a deep breath and calmed down. “Ok then. Is that willow tree too far away?”

She shook her head, smiling. “Let’s go, your highness. And don’t worry, it’s my knightly duty to keep you safe.”

“My hero.” Lance said, sounding surprisingly sincere.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment, I want to know what you guys think!


End file.
